Hendriksen Happenings

Peace Out, Preschool!

2024-05-14T03:29:00.001-06:00

Lydia's preschool graduation! May 13th from Miss Blaire's. She said her poem, "I Have a Little Flower" and sang all the songs so good! She was so fun to watch. She may be the smallest one but she's so ready for kindergarten! She is reading on her own simple words and has figured out addition. She can't wait for August to come.

Aviana, Ember, Teddy Raban, Paige Bond, Gavin Haycock, another boy, Miss Blaire, Lydia, Archer Issacson, Lauren Nielsen, Khalycee Raban, Crew Thomas

Lydia says she wants to be a "make-up artist" when she grows up.

Mother's Day

2024-05-12T21:28:00.006-06:00

I was given a wonderful breakfast in bed where the girls at all my food and lots of little gifts made by Benson and Shad at school. But the very best present was Ty and Levi bearing their testimony at church. it was a neat sacrament meeting with the primary singing, then the youth singing the EFY medley and then the rest of the time was turned over to the youth for testimonies. I kept giving them a begging face and they were dying but they did it! I was so proud of them and was happy they did it. The girls carried up a giant card that was bigger than them. TJ and the boys had a large Sunday dinner with surf n turf, potatoes, asparagus, pasta salad and DP. I didn't do one dish and didn't have to work so it was a great day!!

Lydia bringing me the drink menu for breakfast:

Water

Milk

Apple (juice)

Orange (juice)

This is for Mom. Not for Kids.

The Mother's Day gift I bought myself to give to TJ to wrap up for me- I love my wall and love my view going up the stairs!! I'm going to add more since I love them so much. They are so easy to stick on the wall and move around too.

Lydia had a preschool field trip to Coronado for all the graduating preschoolers going to "kindergarbage" as Miss Blaire calls it. Lydia was so excited to tour the school and see the kinder classrooms! She can hardly contain her excitement for kindergarten next year.

Cambria threw Aunt Janet a retirement party and I met TJ there straight from work. I forgot to tell Levi that he was babysitting for Kristy & Nate. I got a text from his "music device" (I don't let him call it a phone) stating that Aunt Kristy was here with her kids. I told him I forgot to ask him if he would babysit and that I'd buy him a drink if he did. A little while later I got this picture from him along with another picture of the kids watching a movie and I don't know why but it cracked us all up. He really is the best babysitter and very reliable. Then a few minutes later I got a text saying, "What is the baby's name?" Hahaha, LEVI!

Levi will do anything as long as he gets to listen to music. He wants Beets headphones for his bday really bad and is constantly adding new songs to his playlist. He asked me to add my favorite country and 90's music to it as well. He's really social and fun to have around. I got this text from Kami Palmer, his track coach, after TJ and I let him take TJ's portable speaker on the bus to a meet.

"Levi has been a great DJ on our bus rides!! Thank you for showing him how to how fun with music, but still be appropriate. He is a great example! We love and appreciate him!"

Spirit Week at school- Superhero Day, Patriotic Day, Barbie & Ken Day, Disney Day and then Neon Class Colors Day with the last Student Council assembly of the year. I knew Shad was the perfect person to wear the Ken suit I bought off Amazon- he loved it and wore it proudly and was very disappointed when I returned it. After the current Student Council got to go on a field trip to the go-cart place in Show Low so they had a fun day. However, they announced the winners of next school year's student council and Levi won Treasurer but Ty lost freshmen Vice President. We thought he would totally win so it was a big blow. CJ and Asher won also so he was wanting to be with them in the student council for one electives next year. It was a day that hurt my heart and made me wish we could go back to toddler days. We had to restructure his elective preferences and threw us off a bit. But it's okay, I was proud of him for handling it okay overall and taking this as life lesson! But man, hard to see your kids go through tough situations like that.

Benson's 2nd grade music program- he was NOT looking forward it and out of all my kids, hates being in the spotlight. He definitely did not smile throughout it and his dance moves were minimal but he did it and even was an extra dancer in Mrs. Heap's class. I was proud of him for doing something that he knew had to be done and just getting through it!

Benson dancing with Mary Portillo

Lydia and Khalycee Raban- they are little buddies at preschool as well. I got guilted into coaching Lydia's tball team and let's just say, I'm enduring to the end. She loves it and I would only do it for her but I am counting down the games until we're done. Some parents take it way too seriously and often I coach a game and go straight to a night shift. I'm a little burnt out with coaching, can't you tell?

These two wanted to be twins during their game against each other but then get so competitive during the game- it's so cute!

Last week was the week of a ton of programs and projects due! This was Ty and Levi's cardboard projects- Levi had a candy dispenser and Ty's was a 3D soccer jersey. Levi won an award for one of the top ten.

Shad's band concert. I made him and Zoee take this picture for potential future prom pictures. Since we left early after the 4th/5th grade played, Dittys was still open so I hurried and took him to get an ice cream since it was just me and him.

Shad got to go with his early morning choir classes to Paqua Park in the valley. He was gone all day Saturday and had so much fun. Early morning choir has been a lot and interrupts piano practicing but it's been good for him this year and he has enjoyed it.

Utah Trip

2024-05-08T02:02:00.001-06:00

Guy and Ruth came home from their 18 month humanitarian mission to Ivory Coast so we took a quick trip to welcome them home. We left straight from Ty's track meet in Heber, had to backtrack a bit, then had to detour to Flagstaff to find something to eat and so we finally made it to Richfield after midnight. There was a problem with our hotel key so it took a while to get into our rooms. I had all six kids laying in the hallway in front of our rooms with all our luggage, half asleep. But I'm glad we got the hotel and in the morning after a continental breakfast, we only had 2 more hours to go. We stayed at Ginger's house since Guy and Ruth didn't have a single bed since they rented their house out while they were gone and it was empty. Vannessa was there for two weeks as well so it was a bit of a tight squeeze but it made it all work and it was a good weekend. I'm glad we went to see everyone since it had been a while. Mandie and Adam blessed baby Caleb while we were there and we watched soccer games and the kids had a ton of cousin playing time. Ty, Levi and Parker all went to the temple since Ty really wanted to do baptisms in a different temple. We left right after church on Sunday and drove the 10 hours back home. It was a bit of a rough trip home but we made it and ready to get back to the chaos of the last month of school!

I was impressed with how well Lydia can write Hendriksen!

Lydia and Gracie had so much fun together even though they are two years apart. So cute to see them playing together. Tatum is such a sweet girl and so easy to have around. We were glad she was able to come out!

Sammy had this infatuation with Shad- it was so funny! He wanted to be where he was all the time.

Celeste and Hazel- these two are about two weeks apart in age.

African dresses and ties!

You can barely tell that Vannessa is 16 weeks pregnant here with boy/girl twins!!

The dinner at Mandie's house was quite healthy so we took these teenagers out for burgers at Chubby's after and they were in heaven! Good food and good cousins!

Ty turns 14!

2024-05-05T07:50:00.002-06:00

Ty turned 14 last week! It was a busy week with lots of end of school year things going on, us leaving for Utah after his track finals and the middle of the week birthday so we had to celebrate the best we could! He woke up to Belgian waffles, OJ and bacon for breakfast and got to go to Dittys for lunch. I took cupcakes to soccer practice (which was after track practice) and then ended the day after mutual with a burger from Cupidos and cake and ice cream. He got some good gifts and loved wearing his birthday socks and squared root 14 shirt. He's such a good kid and easy to please so it wasn't too hard for him to have a good birthday!

On their way to track finals in Heber! They were excited to ride the Redskin bus.

Levi got braces on Ty's birthday! He's pumped because he is supposed to have them on less than a year which would mean he could get them off before Ty does. Dr. Beeler said his teeth are so straight already that we could just wait and see if they align themselves as the years go on but I wanted to get them on asap since I want perfect teeth- the one thing I can control, haha.

Family Cruise- Ensenada & Day at Sea

2024-04-30T12:30:00.001-06:00

On Wednesday April 17, we spent in Ensenada, Mexico. A private van picked us up and drove us to the zip line canopy tour. Me, Levi and Shad ended up going on a really cool zip line tour with bridges to cross while we were hooked to cables. Benson was going to go with us but then as the workers with thick accents were explaining how to do it, he got scared and started to cry and didn't want to, which was fine! Even I was a little apprehensive at first. TJ stayed with everyone else while they got ice cream and fed ducks at the pond while they waited for us. Ty didn't have any desire and he had already gone parasailing the day before. After that they drove us to La Bufadora, the 2nd largest blowhole in the world. We walked past all the shops selling everything they do in Rocky Point. We did eat reallllly good churros though- definitely the best I've ever tasted. There was a purple apron guy who made me promise to buy his on the way back, saying his were the best and they really were! The blowhole was neat and really big the day we were there. After that they drove us back and everyone took a good nap. The Captain of the ship had seen us the night before and was impressed by our family and offered to give us a tour of the brig of the ship! So that was a special treat and we felt like VIPs. It's crazy all that it takes to run the ship. The next day was a day at sea as we made our way back to Long Beach. It was definitely colder and overcast than I would've hoped for but the kids didn't mind and we kept eating alllll the food, all day long. By Friday morning we were back and got off the ship and ready for the long drive home. It was definitely such a good vacation, perfect for our kids' ages. I'm so glad we walked away and just did it. It was needed and really good bonding for us all and neat for the kids to experience it. We've already talking about saving money to do it again before Ty graduates!

Benson's face when he ordered the 'cheese plate' instead of the 'cheesecake' he thought he was getting!

Lydia crossing her legs like a big girl.

The boys with their Messi jerseys from Ensenada.

The Captain explaining how he runs the ship.

The girls were beyond excited to get to pick our a Build a Bear.

Lydia fainting with how good her cereal was each morning.

Levi's 'souvenir' that he got was time in the arcade. He got SO close to winning Beets headphones and an iphone, haha. It actually was fun to watch.

In every single picture, you can see Shad posing in some way. On the last day he told me he asked one of the workers to take pictures of him and so I found a whole series of individual pictures of just him, haha. That's Shad for you!

Levi's selfie I found on my phone.

Trying to lay out like it's not cold!

Family Cruise- Long Beach and Catalina Island

2024-04-30T12:07:00.002-06:00

We left for our family cruise that was the kids' Christmas present on April 14th. We drove to Marana to return the Excursion and to have family dinner with everyone. Now that Devin, Dallin and Derek all live there, there are a lot of cousins! My parents also had a birthday dinner celebrate for me which was so nice. Street tacos with shrimp and carne asada and my mom's attempt at a pralines and cream baskin robins cake, haha. I was worried about hitting California traffic and missing our assigned boarding time so TJ and I woke up at 0430 and threw sleeping kids in the car to be on the road by 5 am. It worked and we made it right on schedule! We left from Long Beach that Monday and the next day, April 16, spent the day at Catalina Island. The three older boys went parasailing, which they loved (except Ty, he tolerated it). It was their favorite thing they did. TJ went with him and I stayed with the younger three while they played on the beach. We walked around a bit and got ice cream and then spent the second half of the day on the ship, which the kids loved. I cannot even try to estimate how many ice cream cones, cheeseburgers and chicken strips we consumed. The kids loved all the food and ate sooo much! That night was the formal dinner, which happened to be my birthday dinner. The waiters brought out a cake and made a big deal singing and everything. I had the best seafood meal too. It was a pretty good way to celebrate turning 39!

Shad was sooo excited to eat at Shaq's chicken place.

Overall, I thought the kids did very well with the formal dinners each night. They were willing to try so many fancy meals and ate so much. We ate frog legs, calamari, and duck rolls to name a few! We got so many comments on being a big family with so many kids and quite a few compliments on how well everyone behaved.

Turned 39!!!

What Hazel wanted to wear every single day- a long sleeve dress with socks and white church shoes.

The three younger kids ate sooo much mac and cheese!

Shad and Levi LOVED parasailing and said it was their favorite part of the trip. Ty wasn't as much of a fan. He didn't realize they were going 800 ft in the air. Somehow he had it in his head they would only be going 60... haha.

One of our waiters made Lydia "the princess" since he saw all the boys and Hazel was asleep on my lap. Poor Hazel had a hard time hanging. It was a busy trip for a 3 year old!

Before we left we went to the memorial for Coach Jeff. It was a service, luncheon and tournament in his honor, called Jeff's 2nd Chance. It was really good closure for these boys and everything went so well.

Grand Canyon

2024-04-28T07:46:00.000-06:00

TJ took Levi, Shad and Benson to hike the Grand Canyon with 4H. Ty was supposed to go but didn't want to miss track regionals so we let him stay. I was a little nervous about Benson going but I was so impressed, he did great! They hiked it in 8 hours and Shad finished with Cooper Heap way before them. As they were coming out, it was starting to snow! They packed up and came home that night since TJ wanted to make it home in time for soccer games the next day. I'm glad TJ got to do it, he says it was quite the experience.

Benson started coach pitch baseball and this is Lydia's first year of tball! She was beyond excited. I got suckered into coaching since there wasn't anyone else that would do it.

I re-did the girls' room and I loved how it turned out!

I found this letter in Shad's room, haha.

Shad's Honor Choir Concert

Easter Sunday

2024-04-07T04:13:00.003-06:00

Ty- almost 14

Levi- 12.5

Shad- 10

Benson- 8

Lydia- 4.5

Hazel- 3

Lydia's self-appointed poses- which Hazel then tries to copy.

SJMS Student Council Movie Night

Ty went with Jarom, CJ and Boulder to the Go-Kart races in Show Low for Jarom's birthday. They had so much fun and we're very proud of the fact that they were able to rig the system to make it so they all were in first place.

Easter Baskets

2024-03-30T04:43:00.001-06:00

Spring keeps trying to come! It'll be nice weather and then snow the next day. But I love the flowers on all our trees! I'm so ready for warmer weather. That's the biggest downfall to losing weight- I feel like I've been cold for months on end. I take a hot shower once or twice a day just to warm up!

Our "new" 2021 Suburban! I researched every night at work for hours and finally narrowed it down to two good options. One of them happened to be in Show Low so we look at that one first. We felt good about it and bit the bullet and bought it! It's a beautiful blue color, 70K miles, one owner and no accidents. I felt like we got a good deal on it based on others ($42K- still, ouch! The most expensive car we've ever bought and the newest relative to the year). We didn't really want to do this but since we've had car problems since July, it is time. We're so sick of car problems and need something reliable and that will last a long time. So we're hoping this is the one! I do think it's beautiful but hate having a car payment. We've rarely had one in our marriage. It's funny- we bought a house and a car in the same year, while TJ is currently unemployed. It must look like things are great, that we are rolling in the dough. Ha! Just a reminder that how things look on the outside are not what it really is. You never know the behind scenes trials people are going through.

The Easter bunny came early since I'm working a lot and I don't like doing baskets on Sunday with 9 am church. The kids were thrilled and very happy with all their surprises. It's always fun seeing their excitement, even the teenagers.

We had our annual Passover meal, which I've come to love. There's so much meaning and I love the connection between our Biblical Saints, BOM Saints and LDS.

Mrs. Tara shielding her "baby chicks" from the cold wind! Hazel LOVES dance class and always looks so adorable getting out of the car and running inside with Lydia leading her. Hazel always has to wear dance clothes (two tutus in fact) while Lydia likes "normal" clothes most weeks.

Dying Easter eggs. Ty helped Lydia and Levi helped Hazel. Shad and Benson each did their own. They did it on Sunday afternoon while I slept and they were so excited to show me their eggs when I woke up. They were very proud of all their hard work.

Spring Break

2024-03-19T04:44:00.001-06:00

These boys got lucky and got to tag along with Grandpa, Derek and Dallin to Vegas for the Pac-12 basketball tournament. TJ met my dad in Flagstaff on Wednesday and I picked them up in Flag on Sunday so it was quite the trip. It worked out perfectly to be during our Spring Break. They were in heaven wearing all of their U of A gear, ate tons of good food, stayed in a hotel, went to the M&M and Coca Cola factories, the Hoover Dam, and walked a lot of miles. Originally me and Ty were supposed to go but then I had to work. So Levi was going to go. But then he wanted to go to Marana instead so that's how Shad ended up getting to be so lucky. The only thing that would've made it better was if U of A actual won the entire thing like they were supposed to...

TJ met my dad in Flagstaff at 10 pm that Wednesday night. I had to work so I was nervous about the kids being home alone for 5 hours in the middle of the night, even though Levi is more than capable. I had TJ set up the camera so I could watch them all night long. They all slept great without any problems! It was so weird having only 4 kids for the majority of the week. And weird having only Levi as the older one. He got to go on a date with mom and dad and ate lots of good food in Tucson so he was happy.

Hazel enjoyed the CFA sauce immensely- no food needed.

We got to meet Cozy, our newest cousin/niece!

The girls were in love with my mom's new dog, Teddy. Lydia said that was her favorite part of the whole trip.

While Ty and Shad were in Vegas, we decided to go to the valley to pick up our suburban since it was fixed! They had it since December and we were so excited to get it back. We haven't driven it since July! I had the Excursion detailed and all ready to give back to my parents. We picked it up and drove to Marana to spend time with Grandma and stay overnight. It drove great that day and the next. That evening as we were coming home to pack and leave for SJ, the suburban suddenly had a major oil problem and pulled over immediately to the side of I-10 between Tangerine and Marana exit. Devin had to come rescue us and put two quarts in. We thought we were good and turned it back on but oil started spewing out. Me and mom ended up having to find a tow strap and tow the suburban home with the excursion- it was a nightmare! I hated every second of it cause it was so dangerous. Semi trucks were flying by, so close to us as we drove on the shoulder. Then getting to the Marana exit and trying to turn on such a busy intersection was so nerve-wracking. I was just praying the whole time and so tense and nervous. During that time the electrical sensors all kept going off, just like what it did back last summer. It was pretty defeating to say the least but I also was grateful to have made it home in one piece, we didn't break down earlier in the day in the middle of busy Tucson roads or in Globe canyon with no cell service. It could've been so much worse. But TJ and I are just over not having a reliable car. So as much as we've tried to avoid it, we are now car shopping for a new suburban or yukon xl. We gave it a valiant effort! So while we don't have a reliable car and TJ is unemployed for the time, we'll take these current trials compared to anything else that could happen! We are just going to go forward with trust that things will all work out eventually!

Shad was very excited to take his U of A that he bought at Rocky Point- he said he got lots of compliments on it!

Shad was offended the waitress gave him a kids menu at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Tanner was able to meet them there!

The girls' favorite place in the house- warming their bums on the heater while reading.

Karli and Tanner at the MTC!

Back in January, my work asked if I'd do a contract since they have reached a critical staffing shortage. TJ and I decided to do it since the money is good (time and a half, which is about $63/hr) but I said I could only do a 4 week contract. That started Feb. 7. Well, TJ lost his job on Feb. 2 so talk about perfect timing. It was so touching knowing that Heavenly Father knew this was coming and set us up to be okay. Such a tender mercy. TJ also got a 17 week severance package and our insurance goes until June 30. So we are okay. I also said I would do another 4 week contract for March. So I've been full time nights for the past 6 weeks! It actually has been just fine since TJ is home and I am able to fully sleep when I have shifts back to back. I enjoy my co-workers and have a really good work family. When I pick up extra shifts it's about $90/hr so that definitely makes it worth it. It's hard being tired but I'm so grateful for this career that has been our family's insurance all these years. We will get through this and eventually I will get to go back to being more of a stay at home mom. We have faith that things will work out with TJ trying to get this assisted living facitlity started and to get the paperwork needed to reopen it. The timeline of it all worries me but I know Heavenly Father is acutely aware of us and guiding us along!

"S" Day at Pre-K

2024-03-12T03:22:00.007-06:00

Since Grandma's good pets have all died, Benson went to Lydia's preschool to show the kids Noodle for "S" Day. He was so good to the kids and patiently taught them all about her. He had called grandma beforehand and found out useful information to tell them. He took it very seriously. I grabbed him twice from school and took him back so he could show the am and pm class. That meant I had to carry Noodle in the bag back and forth, lucky me.

We had a backyard party for Shad's basketball team to wrap up the season. It was fun coaching these boys and it was a wild hot dog and smores roasting party! Shad received the MVP award. We enjoying having a good backyard to do these things in!

I got the rare opportunity to listen to an apostle in person! Elder Renlund came to Show Low! Himself, his wife and Sister Susan D. Porter all spoke in a special fireside just for women from all the surrounding stakes. I had to work that night but asked about 5 people if they could cover three hours for me. Finally on the last person I asked, she said she could do it so I had the opportunity to go! I had really prayed that someone could cover for me so it was a direct answer to prayer. I met some friends for dinner beforehand and Licano's Restaurant was seriously about 50% women, dressed up for the fireside. It ended up being one of the most spiritual meetings I've been to in a long time- it was such a good meeting and I loved every minute of it. It was a full two hours long and I appreciate all their words so much. I also saw many of my work friends there too, which was fun to see. I was so grateful I got to be there.

Cosette (Cozy) Wengert- baby girl #5 to Devin and Teddi! Surprise!

Born March 10, 2024, 8 lbs, 7 oz

Basketball Brothers

2024-02-29T01:04:00.078-07:00

Three different basketball programs- Ty playing for 8th grade middle school team, Shad on the city league 3rd/4th grade team, Benson on the youth league K-2nd team. I was so impressed with Ty this year. He became the first off the bench player and improved 10x from last year! It also helped that he can see now (when he got contacts he told me how much he can see the ball now- total mom fail, haha). He has worked hard and had a good attitude even when there were some games he never got in the game just because of the way Coach Knight decided to play. But he never complained and gave it his best. So proud of him.

I coached Shad's team this year with Edwin, Manny, Kaizin Cohen, Ryan Hammond, Hudson Hancock and Brand Willis. It was a fun team and we ended up being 2nd out of 5 teams. We couldn't beat the dang Patterson team that was undefeated all season! But it was super fun watching Shad- he was probably the best 3rd/4th player out of all the boys! And I don't say that to anyone, just wanted to document it here. I was so impressed with his abilities- he wasn't like that last year! He came alive and dominated on the court. So fun to watch and can't wait for later on when all these kids will be teammates together!

Benson's league is just a quick 3 week K-2nd grade league and it's perfect for him! He's loving it and is the best intro into bball.

The 4th graders

No one smiling after a hard loss to the Patterson team in the championship game.

Lydia got her kindergarten shots for kinder registration last week and I was blown away by how brave she was! She did not cry at all and didn't even act scared. I told her in the waiting room that she'd be getting two shots but that we could go get a treat after and that was all it took! Later she said, "I wish I got 4 shots cause I'm 4!" We got her paperwork for it and she was beyond excited. I can't believe my baby girl is ready for kinder! She is putting together sight words to read and is always asking me what everything says. Miss Blaire gives her extra 'homework' and she can't get them done fast enough. Even though she's a June birthday she's more than ready and I'm happy they have a full day option for kinder. I think it's so good for these kids to have that option and she will love it. I am still worried about her chronic constipation issues, like deeply worried, but we're trying to work though it all. I think pretty soon the lightbulb will just switch and she's starting to realize what she needs to do to be able to go to kinder. So fingers crossed (with lots of fasting and prayer)!

Poor Hazel got her head stuck in the railing- Dad to the rescue!

Ty had a group of friends over for a movie night- 8th grade boys are quite funny, loud and not good movie watchers but I love having the house full of friends. These guys decided to try out Ty's bed.

Enduring lots of basketball games!

If you look closely you can see Brigden driving Shad, Ryan Hammond and Austin. He drove them to the edge of their field and parked and they walked the rest of the way to Brides since Brigden is only 14, haha. They all thought he was so cool, especially Brig himself!

Wengert cousins together for Karli's farewell. I got asked to speak with Karli so that was a once in a lifetime occurrence. Not sure how often it is when people get to speak with their cousin!

Big Brothers

2024-02-19T01:52:00.004-07:00

I've said this many times but these girls are so lucky to have not just one older brother but FOUR! I always dreamed about what it would be like to have an older brother growing up. These boys are so patient and kind to these little girls. I love catching moments of sibling love like this.

Max, Kellen, Benson and Bennet- best buddies

Christi, Aliya, Lydia

The things these girls do to survive multiple basketball games as shown: 1.) Hazel wearing her sleep mask, eating random popcorn in the stands. 2.) The girls (Lydia, Quincy and Hazel) convincing the older teenage girls to let them play on their phones until mom takes it away. 3.) Sitting by Mr. Edgar so they can have a turn running with the Redskins flag. And 4.) Volunteering to go down with the cheerleaders to shoot hoops during half time.

8th grade basketball team- 2024

Girl cousins!

Valentine's Day

2024-02-19T01:41:00.004-07:00

We celebrated V-day on Sunday since I was in the middle of working my three night shifts in a row and we had several games that night. We had a nice family dinner and the kids all enjoyed their valentines gifts. The boys gave flowers to us girls on actual Valentines Day, which was so sweet. I love that these girls will grow up with memories of their brothers getting them flowers. Shad, Benson and Lydia all had class parties and loved doing their Valentines cards. I didn't even have to help Lydia this year. Hazel did some just for fun so she wouldn't feel left out. I made pepperoni flowers at work the night before- felt like the most random-est thing I have ever done at work. But Lydia's veggie tray turned out really cute. The girls loved their Valentine's Day hair and kept it in all day long. Benson and Shad both asked girls to be their Valentines- Rylee Waite and Zoee Hancock. I knew Shad would for sure but I was surprised about Benson! It was such a big thing for him to do to push him out of his comfort zone and it was an overnight change! He was adamant about not wanting a valentine and then the next day said Rylee asked him and was super excited about taking her something! Ty and Levi both said they didn't have current crushes on anyone so there was no point in asking anyone. Lydia and Hazel were invited to Boone Udall's valentine party and they were beyond excited for it. I spent the day sleeping and working!

Timmy Clemment, Lydia, Kent Brown, Boone Udall, Jared Patterson

Quincy Platt, Hazel, Tommy Clemment, Anna Udall

Molly

2024-02-09T02:44:00.007-07:00

Molly

2/16/14 - 2/3/24

Molly was put down on Saturday Feb. 3 by Dallin after he called and told me she was having difficulty breathing. She had a full day of pampering by Amy and the boys, with a bath, bacon, chicken and whipped cream for dinner and essential oils massage. She had such a good, long life! She was 10 years old and I sure loved that dog! Now she can join Bandit and run and chase cows all they want!

Ty's 8th grade basketball team

Lydia was counting down the days until it was her preschool field trip to the police station. She couldn't wait to be handcuffed by Miss Blaire's "dad", haha.

Hazel's first day of dance class with Mrs. Tara now that she is 3. Lydia was beyond proud to show her what to do and was very instructive (bossy but nice) every step of the way. Mrs. Tara said she had an assistant teacher the entire time.

North Carolina Sisters' Trip

2024-02-09T02:28:00.000-07:00

We pulled off one heck of a sisters' trip in the very beginning of Feb!!!

I had felt like I needed to go visit Jessie, see NC and her house and meet Lainey ever since she was born and at the end of Nov. I felt a strong prompting to just do it. TJ helped me find cheap tickets on skiplagged and I booked it. I tried to get Jordan and Janae to come with me but it got tricky with their work schedules and Scout. I figured I'd just go by myself this time and then plan a real sisters' trip in the future. I drove to the valley on Wednesday night, stayed in a hotel and flew out early Thursday morning for Charlotte. Sterling's company secretary, Jill, picked me up from the airport and drove me to their house since she was able to work from home and they live in the same neighborhood as them. Jessie wasn't home and in fact, she saw us coming into their neighborhood as she was leaving to go pick up Lincoln from kindergarten and assumed Jill's daughter was in town, haha. Sterling was able to open the garage for me and I went inside to wait. He said it should only be 10 min but it ended up being 2 hours since Jessie took the kids to the park, haha. I wasn't sure how to surprise her without scaring anyone exactly when they did finally get home but I just went downstairs and had my video on to record it. She was SO surprised and it was sooo fun! We talked and played with the kids and I snuggled Lainey and then went out to dinner that night since Sterling was out of town on business. Jordan and Janae sent us pictures of them in their scrubs at work since they had to work that day, saying how sad they were to miss it. I was teasing them, telling them to hurry up and get here, that we knew they were on their way to join us. I honestly had NO idea they were doing just that! The next morning I'm doing dishes and Jessie is talking to me, holding the baby, and suddenly I see people outside their sliding glass door. I realize it's THEM and Scout and they are waving and recording and trying to open the door!! I'm speechless and staring and Jessie is asking what is going on. All I can do is point and she turns around and just starts screaming! They come inside and I'm in total disbelief!! I can't believe they surprised US and they actually pulled it off! They had both worked all day on Thursday and then took a red eye flight with Scout, rented a car and drove to Jessie's house! I was in shock and suddenly I was beyond grateful I had made this trip, sacrificed the time and knew the memories we'd make would be priceless. We talked and talked, stayed up late, went out to eat, got Lainey's ears pierced at a tattoo parlor, and had so much fun just being together, just as sisters. Sterling got home on Saturday and we were able to have a day with just us and the baby girls which was nice. I was touched that Sterling did so much to help get us there and how much it meant to Jessie. It was fun to get one on one time with Cal and Lincoln- they were fighting over who got to sit with me and who I liked the most. When Lincoln got home from school on Friday, he walked in and saw all of us there and said, "What?? There's more of you? Now I really can't tell you guys apart!" We were quite the sensation on Sunday as people just couldn't get over how much we look alive and how there were four of us. I seriously bet 20+ people commented on it. I even got to see Ashton and Jaron Woolley since they are in Jessie's ward! I worked with Ashton for years in the ER at Utah Valley and TJ and Jaron went to high school together and played soccer together after we were married. Small world. It was a really great trip and even though TJ called on Thursday night to tell me he lost his job (more on that later) and Molly was put to sleep on Saturday, it was the best time. I also realize how much of a homebody I am the older I get. I was anxious to get home and realized how much I love my life where we live and my own kids, dog, job and husband. It's just funny how things sometimes settle more in perspective when you are away from your norm for a few days. I also had quite the experience getting my carry on suitcase onto the plane since American was forcing me to check my bag. I couldn't do that since I was getting off at PHX and not my final destination (that's how skiplagged works). They wanted to send my suitcase to Palm Springs and then call and try to get a plane to send it back and somehow get it from Phoenix. And the worst part of all is that there was tons of overhead space- no need for all of that. They were just being jerks. But after lots of tears, a white lie that I had a family emergency, and being obstinate by ripping off the checked bag tag in front of the stewardess and refusing to leave my bag at the end of the gate, I got my way and was able to keep my carry on!! I drove home that same night, getting home at 1 am which was 3 am eastern time but it was very worth it! I know we'll always remember this surprise trip!

Hanging out with Zoey for two hours- waiting for Jessie to come home! I finished a book and did more Come Follow Me- it was so nice and quiet!!

Mom sent money for us to get pedicures and go to dinner- it was so sweet and thoughtful of her!!

Lainey was 3.5 months old and was the most chill baby ever! I was trying to show off her cute church outfit. And she looked so pretty with her newly pierced ears.

Hazel turns 3!!

2024-01-30T14:30:00.001-07:00

Hazel was so excited for her birthday and kept asking when she was going to have her purple birthday cake and Bluey party. She also realllly wanted purple Nikes- can't you tell she has older brothers?? We celebrated the day before on Sunday since I had to work Sunday night and we had a busy Monday.

Hazel is so sweet and cuddly but she can also fly off the handle if she gets frustrated or too much teasing. That is getting way less frequent though. She loves mom and usually is singing her "I miss my mom" song when I'm at work or saying "but I'll miss you" if I run to the store, check the mail or drop her off at day care. Her speech is getting better and better and it's not very often that we can't understand her. Although she does call Levi something that sounds like "Lighty?" It kind of has stuck so we'll often call him that, haha. Her naming Lydia "Yah yah" will forever stick and that's become a constant nickname. Lydia will probably be Grandma Yah Yah in a hundred years from now. She has the darkest brown eyes, so dark it's often hard to see her pupils. Last week she got something very sticky stuck in her hair and I had to give her hair a trim so now it's to her shoulder blades. She has the Wengert bum and I love to squeeze it all day long. My kids are going to grow up with issues with how much I pinch, spank or squeeze their bums. She sleeps with me every night and I love cuddling with her. She's the perfect ending to our little pack and I'm so glad she's ours! I also can't believe my baby is THREE! No more babies in this house.

Toothless

2024-01-28T13:22:00.006-07:00

Benson finally lost his two front teeth, a few days apart. He looks so cute!!

This was a text from Holly Nelson, his teacher:

"I was so touched by Benson's kindness today. I was assigning partners and a particular student is sometimes hard to have as a partner so I try to rotate his partners. Benson could see that I was trying to figure out who to partner this particular student with and Benson kindly said "I'll be ____ 's partner." He's such a great kid!"

100 days of school on Jan 24th!

"When I am 100 year old I will be like my grandma collecting snakes."

Lydia looooves Mexican food, especially cheese enchiladas and tacos!

Levi and Shad were in the middle school spelling bee and they both did really well! They were pretty nervous beforehand but were calm as well. Shad got out on the word bright but lasted several rounds. Levi lasted for quite a long time and was the last round before the oral rounds started. He got out on the word hungrily, darn it! I was sure proud of them for making it to the actual competition and being good sports about it. He was one of nine 7th graders who made it. Shad was won one of three spots in his class spelling bee and was one of nine 4th graders overall.

They got a gift certificate for a double scoop ice cream from Dittys and Shad talked me into taking him and Kyler and Austin to lunch. Dittys was filled with spelling bee kids, haha.

Two Shaddies!

Cute cousins! With Brynlee Sego

Lydia's dance recital with Mrs. Tara at the Varsity basketball games during halftime.

Lydia loves Paige Bond!

Ty and his buddies doing the clock and books for 7th grade bball tournament.

My (first) mission mom passed away suddenly on Jan 19th, Sister Marianne Hunt. She was such a loving, kind lady and I was so saddened to hear of her passing! I love this picture of President and Sister Hunt! WMM- Wisconsin Milwaukee Mission

Temple date with beautiful sunset and good food after!

Noodle Eats

2024-01-24T21:17:00.002-07:00

Shad and Austin live for Varsity Boys home games. They get to sit on the end of the bench and quickly get up to get water to the guys during time outs. A lot of the times these high school boys affectionately swat them, high five them or help them move to the center of the huddle to get the active players water quicker. It's really cute to see.

Benson has been actively reading the BOM since the beginning of the year, super motivated by a color in reading chart. It's been really cute to see. He's already in 2 Nephi.

Hazel bringing in the 90's Wengert girl vibes with crimped side ponytail. I think she looks like she could be one of my parent's kid in this picture.

"Mom, take a picture of us in the rainbow!"

Feeding the 8th graders Table Nachos- they loved it and thought it was "so insane." It's fun to be able to do things like this, especially with more room in our house.

Lots of basketball games- these girls are getting good at bringing toys or playing with friends.

Noodle went a good 3 weeks without eating (I think it was because she was shedding) so she finally ate for the first time for us! We tried two frozen mice and she didn't like it so the following week I brought home a live mouse from the pet store. It was a really cold morning and Ty and Shad had orthodontic appointments so I was trying to get them back to school quickly. I grabbed a mouse and set it on the dashboard so I could keep it in my line of sight. I heard it moving all around but as we got closer to town, I didn't hear it anymore. Turns out I cooked it on the dashboard with the heat on! I hurried and dumped it in her cage but she still wasn't interested. So we had to wait another week until I went into Show Low and they were out. So we were there a few days later for games and finally was able to get another one. The poor mouse was in the cage for a good hour before she finally hunted it down. The kids were calling the mouse Spider Rat since it was climbing upside down on the top of the cage, trying to find a way out. She finally caught her and it was so fun to watch the whole process! It's so fascinating seeing her swallow her down, using all her muscles and expanding. We did feel bad for the mouse though!

Lunch with Benson. Two toothless boys!

Shad Turns 10!

2024-01-24T12:01:00.001-07:00

Shad turned 10 on Jan 21st!

He had a friend birthday on Martin Luther King Day so it was a day off of school and he got to invite the whole 4th grade. I was surprised at how many kids came! He got tons of presents (I forgot to say presents not necessary on the invite and he was very happy about that), a lot of $10 bills, got to eat tacos with Austin and Bridger beforehand and I was touched by how many people celebrated him. Blake Udall baked him a pie and brought it as his present to the movie theater- we were in heaven eating it that night! We watched Remember the Titans and it was so funny listening to the boys ohhh and ahhhh at the football hits.

He took cupcakes into his class on Friday and then woke up to his bday on Sunday with a new bike and a few other presents from Grandma. He definitely was spoiled. He spoke in Concho Ward with TJ that same day and did a great job! We had a big family dinner with steak, mashed potatoes- two of his favorites.

"Peace Out Single Digits, I'm 10!"

Happy 2024!

2024-01-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

All the grandkids except 3 (Jessie's weren't there)

Lydia is obsessed with Jordan and Scout. She wanted to ride with them everywhere and every chance she got, she wanted to hold Scout. She just idolizes them. It's funny, when my siblings are in town I start calling Lydia and Hazel, Jordan and Janae. I also sometimes call my boys Devin or Dallin. Somehow I subconsciously revert to that.

New sleeping bags for the cabin from Grandma for Christmas.

Devin and Teddi had some fun adult new years games for us all to play. We each chipped in $5 or a gift card for prizes. I let Ty, Levi and Shad stay up to ring in the new year and we finally let them try a game. They were still going strong at 1 am when I went to bed, haha.

Lydia worked with Tanner on this puzzle for a solid hour, two different days. I was surprised at how much she was able to do and how long she did it for! She thinks Uncle Tanner is pretty cool too.

We went back to school on Wed. Jan 3rd so it felt like a whirlwind of a weekend being at the cabin with so much family and putting on the baptism just after Christmas. I wasn't ready to go back! For once I wanted just a little longer to relax and hang out in our warm, comfy house!

Lydia had been asking for several days for a "Girl Date"- to go get lunch just a girls. I took them to El Camino since Dittys and Cupidos looked busy. Lydia is going to go to kindergarten so soon so I need to make these memories soon before the school year is over. These girls ate almost every bite! They loved the rice and beans especially. They did for pretty good for being in a restaurant!

Twins!!

Ty was ordained a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday January 7th at 13.5 years old. Brigham Udall (2nd counselor and his Algebra teacher) and Bishop Butch Nielsen both stood in the circle.

Justin Clark was on Shad's 5th/6th grade football team and got baptized the same day Benson did. Shad and Levi went, since he's a deacon now. He was baptized by Coach Tate and it was awesome seeing so much of the football team there.

Sledding on New Years

2024-01-07T16:48:00.006-07:00

On New Years Day, a group went skiing at Sunrise and the rest of us went sledding. I wasn't ready to fork out $700 for us to go skiing so my family just went sledding this year. I was grateful for hand-me-down snow gear from the Browns since the girls were fully outfitted! I was surprised at how much fun we at sledding! Everyone but Hazel could walk up the hill just fine on their own and next year I'm sure she'll be able to by then. That's a game changer in taking the kids more, haha. I hardly got any pictures of Shad and Levi since they just took off and I hardly saw them since they were busy finding the highest and scariest runs to go down! We did get some awesome videos though and Levi hit his head pretty good and Shad ended up hurting his back and lower back. Both of them got crazy air and I was dumb to let Shad do it twice. But I was surprised at how fearless they were! Lydia loved it so much and only had a few scares. She's just so little that she flies up into the air. Hazel was content to go down a few times with Mom. Lydia, Ruby and Lottie were sure cute together and loved going down with all three. Ty was always cautious and content to go down the safer hills.

We woke up to a lot of snow this week! We even had a 2 hour snow delay which was so nice to snuggle back in bed for a little bit! Our house looks so pretty with so much white!

Benson's Baptism

2023-12-31T21:39:00.001-07:00

Meeting uncles and aunts in RV for lunch on the way to the cabin for the weekend. The highlight was seeing Scout, of course!

Benson's birthday/Christmas/baptism gift from Grandma! The long awaited for snake! He named her Noodle and he was so excited for her!

Saturday December 30, 2023

He was baptized by his dad and confirmed by Grandpa Wengert. It was a really good baptismal service and everything went so smooth and well! TJ and Benson said the water was pretty cold though. After we had a luncheon, complete with a soda bar. We were so grateful to have so many friends and family members there. Six of my seven siblings were there. My mom woke up sick and didn't think she could come. But then she said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to take her sickness away. About 45 min later she felt completely better and was able to come! A tiny but huge tender mercy! Ty played the piano and Lydia and Lottie sang the cutest duet of When I Am Baptized.

Benson was so excited to ask Uncle Austin to give the talk on baptism. He has idolized him ever since he first met him.

Christmas Day!

2023-12-27T17:19:00.001-07:00

We had a really great Christmas! It was neat to have our first Christmas in our new house and it made everything much more festive and comfy, cozy. The kids held off until 0730 which was great and everyone took turns opening presents. Our kids were at golden ages this Christmas since Hazel understood what was going on and Ty was just as excited as the younger kids. Benson was the first to open the backpacks that announced that we're going on a cruise in April! The boys were all so excited and surprised. Everyone was so happy with their gifts and it was a really good day. The boys sat at the table for hours working on the things they got. I spent literally all day in the kitchen cooking but it all paid off because our dinner was awesome and so so so delicious. Our roasted chicken was cooked on a bed of rock salt and it tasted amazing. I really don't enjoy cooking all that much but it was worth it for such a good meal. It was also so nice just staying at home all day, not having to go anywhere or get ready. I felt like this Christmas was simple but just right. And helped us all focus on the real reason behind it all.

Christmas Eve Sunday

2023-12-24T16:09:00.004-07:00

TJ took Ty, Levi, Asher Hancock, Luke Pemberton and Kyler Heap to do baptisms on the 22nd. Most of them look bored in the picture but they had a really fun time. After TJ came home and met me at the Airbnb where we had the dirtiest clean we've ever had to do! We had 6 plant worker men stay there for over a month and holy cow, they were filthy! I've never seen a dirtier bathroom ever in my life. They left so much stuff and the fridge was so nasty. Nothing was damaged or ruined, just really, really dirty. It took the four of us- me, TJ, Ty and Lev- a solid 4 hours to clean it!

We spent Christmas Eve with the Wengerts at Janet and Delwin's. All their kids were there so it was fun to be with everyone. We had green chili dinner and a Christmas program. The kids have a lot of fun playing with their cousins!

Ezra- 2 1/2 years

Hazel- almost 3 years